Seven at the Glen

Time: About 4:30pm, September 25, 2008
Place: Watkins Glen International, BMW CCA Oktoberfest
Situation: Driver School, Instructor Run Group
Conditions: Humid. Cloudy. Dry track surface.

I took my pal Mr. Worst... Passenger... Ever for a spin (figuratively) in the Instructor Run Group to prove he can trust me behind the wheel and to hopefully show him a good time. A good time was indeed being had when we came upon something more interesting: an E65 BMW 7 Series being driven quite hard on the track. I'm not gonna lie, it was kind of sexy to see the big girl working so hard. Mr. W.P.E whipped out his Blackberry (whew) and snapped a quick sequence (hit the jump for the good shots).



BMW CCA's Oktoberfest is the closest thing to a BMW orgy (and that's close enough, thank you), so you're most likely to see a 7er on the track at an event like this.

Now, the Axis of Oversteer is perfectly comfortable putting cars that don't fit onto a roadcourse in the name of entertainment, but as we closed on the big 7er we realized what a glorious match was occurring between this big car and the track surface. Sure, it rolled a bit, but not too badly thanks to the ARS system. The brakes appeared effective enough for the pace (somewhere above leisurely), and it accelerated beautifully. I never ran into the instructor who was driving her so smoothly, but if you're an Axis watcher, be sure to send us an email. Nice work out of you!

-Freep

Four Days at Watkins Glen

Four track days in a row! Monday and Tuesday instructing for BMW CCA and then the classic Group 52 open track rubber shredding madness with the rest of the Axis fiends. Updates when possible.

I'm a retard and my neck hurts.

No, I did not crash... but it's amazing how thick those winter cobwebs are and how quickly your track day routines can be forgotten.

I was with Freep at Pocono Raceway on Friday, instructing with the NY BMW CCA. First day on the track for me this year and that, combined with instructor, duty made for one "casual" trackday! I think I checked my tire pressure once the whole day, forget temperature or suspension settings.

I went all ready to record video, get data...the work, but over the winter I forgot completely how much space a ChaseCam recording takes on the CF card and as I result I went out twice (in the more interesting sessions naturally) with no space and recorded a big fat zero. Ironically the only video I did manage to get was on the little unit I use now as a aiming screen. Turns out that while the recording quality on the PV 500 is pretty lousy, it will record forever on a 2 gig card.

Pocono North is not the most exiting track but it does have the kind of long, tight corners which the only M Coupe with Kumho V710 is perfectly happy to take in the 1.1 to 1.4 g range. Thus the sore neck!

Shop for KUMHO tires at Tire Rack.

If you click on the picture below, a new window should pop up with the running data for my best lap of the day, a 1:00.185. This is really not bad considering the casual day and the year old tires, last year with sticker V710 I had a :59.xxx and I was certainly trying harder.

If you want to look at the full session you can download the Traqmate data file HERE (free Traqview software on Traqmate site).

The video is not especially exciting, Pocono being so huge and featureless but if you are going to be driving there at some point it's always useful to get a look at the track.

I chose a couple of laps where you at least see some other cars. Two of the faster cars in the instructor group were Ernie Lombardo's J Prepared BMW e30M3 and a black 944 Turbo (I did not get the chance to meet the driver). We got the chance to chase each other around a few times.

Congrats to AC and The Stee

The Axis of Oversteer would like to congratulate members AC and The Stee for successfully completing the, er, rigorous Instructor Training School with the Gennessee Valley Chapter of the BMW Car Club of America during the course of Mother's Day weekend. Both are now fully-credentialed instructors who may proceed to ride along with blissfully unaware novice students at deadly speeds.

Seriously guys, congrats. Want to borrow my neck collar?